In the weeks since his passing, Jerry Tarkanian has been fondly remembered as a loyal family man, a trusted friend, a Vegas icon, a second father, a believer in second chances, a fighter, a mentor, an innovator, a towel-chomper, a Hall of Famer and a humble champion.

The pint-size Eiffel Tower. The miniature Statue of Liberty. A medieval castle next to an Egyptian pyramid. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re pretty shameless when it comes to ripping off the intellectual property of other cities and cultures (and not paying a dime in royalties).

With temperatures well below freezing on the morning of Jan. 15, one Henderson resident decided to use his pool furniture to test the waters. Looks like it passed. Remember this photo the next time you complain about the heat around here.

It’s been awhile since we thought of ourselves as a city on the move. The Strip’s last major opening was the Cosmopolitan in December 2010, and the Downtown renaissance, while uplifting, has not yet sprinkled its fairy dust on the rest of the Valley. But the design of Caesars Entertainment’s Linq project suggests that the Strip’s new era could begin with a nod to the hurlyburly streetscapes of downtowns everywhere.

And so they came, two by two, in time of flood, unto the ship that would bring them urban vibrancy and meaningful interactions. Thus were the Downtown Programmers saved from the fate of Lesser Vegas, and the Call Center Specialists, and the Denizens of the Cocktail Room, and, at long last, upon the birthday of the Helmsman, came the Unicorn. But of such Specimen, as of the Helmsman Himself, there were not two, but only One.

As Mayor Carolyn Goodman will tell you, she’s a straight-shooter—and she proved it at the Dec. 6 opening of the Strip Gun Club. It’s the seventh shooting range licensed in the Valley this year, but the trend hasn’t sparked much concern among local officials. Apparently, they’ll ask questions later.

Never doubt the fire in a half-marathoner’s belly, especially when the half-marathoner happens to be a glowing golden dragon. An estimated 30,000 runners—most of them without scales or forked tongues—hit the nighttime streets for the Zappos.com Rock ’n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon and Half-Marathon on Dec. 2.
Kenya’s Jonathan Ndambuki won the men’s marathon in 2 hours, 32 minutes. Nuta Olaru of Longmont, Colo., won the women’s marathon in 2:51. The dragon apparently finished the half-marathon in 3:13, more than two hours off the pace.

Shania Twain arrived for her new Caesars Palace gig with some first-rate percussion backup: the thunder of 160 hooves. The 40-horse Strip procession on Nov. 14—Caesars called it an “orchestrated stampede”—promoted Shania: Still the One, which debuts at the Colosseum on Dec. 1.
That’s just in time for the less orchestrated stampede of the National Finals Rodeo.

As if they didn’t give enough already, our armed forces offered up some old-fashioned fun at Aviation Nation on Nov. 10-11 at Nellis Air Force Base. Veterans Day should be inspirational for kids—and it seemed to work wonders for this one, striking a pose in front of a KC-10 Extender.

They are slippery beings, shedding skins and changing identities to suit the needs of the moment. And they’re not even politicians. Zumanity cast members are each taught to do their own makeup, and here, in the catacombs beneath the stage at New York-New York, Alex Stabler—a.k.a. “Scottish Fantasy”—gets some tips from makeup designer Nathalie Gagné.

Katy perry showed up wearing a ballot. President Obama showed up wearing a smile. Mitt Romney wasn’t with them at Doolittle Park on Oct. 24 to form a triangle of discord, but he’d just paid us a visit at the Henderson Pavilion with his very own hottie, Paul Ryan.

The last time Lil Wayne went skateboarding in Vegas, it was at 1 Oak when the club built a makeshift ramp for him. Apparently it was time to take it al fresco when he recently shot a video downtown. Limp Bizkit front man Fred Durst will also appear in Wayne’s lil movie. Probably wearing that stupid red hat.